Kids in Need Un-Run

The Kids In Need Foundation, a national, non-profit organization dedicated to providing free school supplies to economically disadvantaged school children and under-funded teachers, is proud to sponsor its first 5k Un-Run to benefit the Twin Cities Resource Center. A contribution of $5K will register you, your team, or your corporation among the first 50 un-runners.

The Un-Run Club will feature these 50 businesses, teams of two to five people, and individuals who have each raised $5,000 for the Resource Center from March 1 to April 15. The Un-Run requires absolutely no running, jogging, walking, strolling, gallivanting, or any other form of physical exertion in order to participate. Participants can register for the Un-Run at http://www.tckinrc.org/Un-Run.html.

The goal of the Un-Run is to raise $250,000. The money will be used to provide basic school supplies for use in the classrooms of low income students. The Twin Cities Resource Center’s current partners include Target, 3M, TCF Bank, and General Mills. When the Un-Run concludes, the Kids In Need Foundation will host a fun 5K Un-Run party where participants will receive a gift, meet local celebrities, and take a tour of the resource center! Un-Runners will see firsthand the impact they can make on local students and teachers.

“Becoming a charter member of the Un-Run Club allows you to directly contribute to the success of Minnesota school children,” said Dave Smith, executive director of the Foundation. “One of these children may grow up to be CEO of 3M, a doctor at the Mayo Clinic, or the store manager at your local Target. Having the supplies they need as students increases their choices when they become adults. The Un-Run Club allows you to contribute without having to break a sweat!”

Lisa Thao, a kindergarten teacher at the Concordia Creative Learning Academy in St. Paul, had this to share, “The Kids in Need Foundation was able to provide the learning tools that students of CCLA needed for the new school year. Students, parents and guardians were very grateful for a backpack full of school supplies. Many students asked me if it was theirs to keep and were surprised and happy when I responded, ‘Yes!’ For some students, the donation was all that they had to start the school year with, but for others, it is all that they have. Each student was prepared and excited to start the new school year with a backpack and school supplies. We are all truly grateful for the backpacks and school supplies from the Kids in Need Foundation.”

The Kids In Need Foundation is a national 501(c)(3) charitable organization with offices in Dayton, Ohio, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded in 1995, the Foundation’s mission is to ensure that every child is prepared to learn and succeed by providing free school supplies nationally to students most in need.

The Kids In Need National Network of Resource Centers includes 29 facilities where teachers from low-income schools go to obtain free school supplies for their students. In addition, two Kids In Need Teacher Grant programs provide K-12 educators with funding to support innovative learning experiences for students.

The Kids In Need Foundation has distributed $450 million in school supplies since its founding, directly benefiting 2.4 million students and 100,000 teachers annually, and has awarded $1.4 million in grants to teachers. Kids In Need has received Charity Navigator’s highest four-star rating for four consecutive years, indicating that it operates in a fiscally responsible way and outperforms most other charities in America. For more information, visit www.kinf.org. Join Kids In Need Foundation on Twitter at twitter.com/kidsinneed and Facebook at facebook.com/kidsinneed.